I Married a Dragon: Para-Mates, Book 2 Read online

  “Kaine.”

  Together, we moved, rocking back and forth, bonded together with more than mere skin.

  “I don’t know how much longer I can last.”

  “It’s okay, Kaine, let go.” I wanted his seed inside my ass. Safely inside my ass.

  “No. Not this way.”

  His wicked laugh alerted me, and once again, the man surprised me. Landing on my back—how strong is this guy anyway?—I gaped at my hubby. “Hey, I thought you were going to come.”

  “Don’t worry.” He peeled the condom off his dick—which looked even larger than before. Clearly he was still armed and dangerous. “We can do it that way again. After we do it the right way.”

  The right way? As in missionary style? I studied his face, so determined, and a shudder ran through me. Had our making love suddenly changed into something else? “But I really wanted you to—”

  “Chrissy-doll, you can’t get—” He clammed up, guilt flickering across his face and alerting my internal guards.

  “I can’t get what?” Please, don’t say pregnant. Is he fucking me for fun? Or to get me pregnant? “What’s going on?”

  He took my face between his hands, searched my eyes and bore his own gaze into me. I recognized the raw sexuality in his expression and felt an answering tug in my gut. “I never expected to love you as much as I do.”

  “You say that like you regret it, but that’s a good thing, right?” Is he trying to tell me something? And do I want to hear it?

  Something flashed in his eyes. “No. I’ll never regret loving you, Chrissy-doll. Never.”

  I wanted to tell him how much I loved him, but I couldn’t speak. Instead, I simply watched and prepared for the invasion of his tongue on my clit.

  Wrapping my legs over his shoulders, he slipped lower to bring the juice closer to him. His tongue lavished me, sending shudders of unlimited delight through me. Sucking, nipping, he tortured my already sensitive nub. With devilish fervor, he attacked my pussy, lapping up my wetness while pressing against my throbbing clit. Another orgasm racked through me and I thrashed against the sheets, forgetting my worries of pregnancy. The sounds he made, drinking up my release, sent me into a higher, longer-lasting climax. When my body finally stopped shaking, I took a deep breath and ran my hand through my hair.

  “Wow, oh, wow.”

  Just when I thought my body couldn’t get much hotter, a vibration rippled over my pulsing skin, growing hotter and hotter. Unfamiliar with the painful, yet exciting feeling, I looked down. What I saw took my breath away and almost stopped my heart.

  Kaine’s mouth was open, lips pursed and blowing on my nub. Not that I hadn’t seen this before. But what threw me was the tiny flame flickering over the sides of my folds, over the tip of my clit, almost reaching my pubic hair.

  Is that fire?

  I blinked, trying to calm down long enough to make sense of what I’d seen. Or thought I’d seen. Attempting to rise up on my elbows to get a clearer look, the searing heat coursing through me sent my body into uncontrollable tremors. The only thing I could do was to throw my head back and scream in ecstasy. This was real heat, real flame, real searing passion to the infinite degree. Whatever Kaine was doing to me was scorching me from the inside out.

  I love it!

  With every climactic explosion, the warmth within grew. Warmth? Ha, I was burning hotter than a supernova flashing through the universe. I’d never experienced anything like this. Yet a girl can only take so much. My body felt like it would dissolve into molten lava if the fire didn’t stop soon.

  As though hearing my thoughts, he abruptly stopped, leaving me stunned and bereft. No! I opened my eyes to peer down at him and he lifted his head, his gaze telling me he knew exactly what he’d done to me.

  “I don’t believe what I saw.” I knew the experience he’d given me deserved so much more, but I couldn’t find more words to describe how I felt.

  “I love you, Chrissy-doll.” His words warmed my heart in a different way.

  “I love you, too, Kaine. But you’re going to have to explain what just happened.”

  “Later.” Kaine lifted my legs higher, wider. “Now keep those beautiful legs spread, woman, because I need to be inside you.” With a roar, he rammed his cock into me. Somehow, some way it felt different than usual. Better. Natural.

  Just how wide could I go? I guess we’re going to find out.

  Damn, but he was great. Not just good, this man, my man was great. He knew exactly how to please me, exactly where to lick, exactly how long to bite. With every plunge, he increased his onslaught, attacking me with an unrivaled enthusiasm. Although I would’ve sworn the flame he’d given me had burned every bit of desire from my body, having him inside me sent me to another height of pleasure.

  Without pausing, he rose and crushed my mouth with his. His tongue wrestled with mine and a small cry escaped me. I could taste my juices on his lips and reveled in sucking them off his tongue. Dizzy with desire, I laced my fingers behind his head and held on for dear life. He finally broke away.

  “Arrgh!” His shout was harsh, loaded with lust. Tremors rippled through his frame, traveling into mine. He shouted his climax and fell on top of me. Sweat dripped from his body and met my perspiration where our bodies met.

  Holding onto him, I couldn’t help but enjoy the quivers still moving along his arms and back. I slid my hands down the rugged surface of his torso, stopping to rest at the curve of his back. Continuing my exploration, I skimmed my fingers back up his hard muscles, running over rough skin.

  Rough? I stiffened. What the hell is this? I don’t remember Kaine having any scars, much less what feels like…like leather? Much like a thick leathery scale.

  My heart gained speed with what I knew couldn’t be true, but I explored farther, discovering more patches of tough skin. Did Kaine have some kind of medical condition? “Kaine, what’s this on your back?”

  He immediately stiffened and rolled onto his back. “What are you talking about?” Contradicting his first reaction, he sent me a soft smile and palmed my cheek. “That was amazing. You are amazing.”

  “Don’t try and change the subject.” I rose up and tried to turn him over onto his stomach. “Flip over and let me take a look. You may need to see a dermatologist.”

  He gave me quick peck and finally did as I asked. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. There’s nothing on my back.”

  I ran my hand over the smooth unblemished skin. “But I swear I felt something.”

  Laughing, he flipped onto his back again and pulled me closer, pressing my breasts to his chest. “You know what I think it is?”

  I held my breath. Was he about to tell me he had a terrible disease? Shouldn’t he have told me about it before we got married? Not that I wouldn’t have married him anyway. “What? You can tell me.” I’ll be here for you no matter what you tell me.

  He cocked an eyebrow at me along with an I’ve-got-you look. “I think you’re trying to distract me.”

  “Huh? Distract you from what?” Kaine had thrown me a punch and I hadn’t had time to duck.

  “I think you want to talk about anything other than what I want to discuss.”

  Huh? Yet I knew in an instant what he wanted to talk about. And he was right. I didn’t want to discuss that topic. Not now, maybe not ever. Although I knew I needed to tell him everything. “Urgh, Kaine. Please don’t ruin amazing sex by talking about having a baby.”

  “I’m sorry, but I must. I really need to have a child with you.”

  Yeah, I know. Most women would’ve loved to hear those words from the man of their dreams, but this gal was different. “Kaine, I’ve already told you. I don’t want kids. At least not any time soon.” I swallowed the guilt. I couldn’t see myself ever wanting kids, but did I dare tell him that? But maybe if I explained… “Why can’t the two of us be enough?”

  An expression I’d never seen came over his face. Removing—because there was no better word for it—me from
him, he jumped out of bed, then turned to confront me. How had our lovemaking changed into a confrontation?

  “Kaine, come on. Don’t be upset.”

  “This is important to me, Chrissy. I want a child.” He exhaled and ran a hand through his hair. “I need an heir. And I need one soon. I want you to stop taking birth control. We’re wasting precious time fucking without a purpose.”

  Fucking without a purpose? “Did you say what I think I heard? A purpose? I thought the purpose of our fucking—as you so delicately put it—is to show our love to each other. Not to procreate. Damn it, Kaine.”

  He sighed and regrouped. “Of course it is. I didn’t mean it to sound that way. I love making love with you.” As though there were two personalities within one man, his body language changed, stiffening. “But that doesn’t change the fact that I want a child.”

  The thought of baring my soul to him, telling him why I didn’t want a baby vanished with my growing frustration. “So it doesn’t matter what I want? I’m just supposed to open wide and produce an heir to the throne? What century do you think this is, Kaine?”

  His face softened for a moment, then hardened again. Mr. Jekyll, meet Mr. Hyde?

  He took a deep breath, obviously trying to steady himself. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to force this on you. Not now.”

  Not now? As in “I’d planned on forcing you earlier but now I’d like your cooperation”?

  “I love you, Chrissy-doll. Is it so wrong for me to want a baby with the woman I love?”

  Okay, either he really felt that way or he was super-duper at laying on the guilt trip. “No, of course not.” I realized the time had come for explanations. I only wished I’d told him before he’d married me. But would he have married me had he known my baby-making shop was closed? Could I have faced a life without Kaine? “Let me explain.”

  But Mr. Hyde had returned. “We must have a child.”

  Aw, crap. I am so not good with ultimatums. “Not if you’re commanding me to.”

  With a final hard look at me, he marched out the door.

  I sat, covers pulled up to my chin, bewildered by my husband’s reaction. What the hell just happened? When had our lovemaking turned into battle?

  The New Desperate Housewife

  A woman can take only so much before she has to put her foot down. And I was putting mine down and through the ground. Sure we’d had sex during the day, but after spending yet another night alone in my marriage bed—as well as dining alone every day—I was more than ever positive that I needed to confront Kaine and get some answers. Not to mention let him in on why I feared having a child. But why was he so damned insistent on my producing a little Delcaluca? Then, of course, we had the lesser issues of the beautiful woman and Fitz’s obsession. I hopped in the shower and dressed as quickly as I could, determined to catch him before he got busy doing…well, whatever he did.

  I dashed down the hallway, intent on finding one of the three offices Kaine had told me existed in my home, and—“Oh!”—ran straight into the diminutive Missy. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’ve never bumped into people as much as I have since coming to live here. Considering the size of this place, you’d think I’d have enough space to avoid poor innocent targets like you.”

  “No, no. I’m the one who should apologize, ma’am.” She shot me a very pretty smile before adding, “I mean, Mrs. Delcaluca. I should’ve contacted you first thing this morning. Then perhaps you wouldn’t have had to rush around trying to find your office.”

  Apparently unfazed by our collision, Missy executed a perfect curtsy. Her maid’s uniform was gone, however, and she now looked the part of the über-professional personal assistant in an expensive tailored suit that had to have been handmade to fit her tiny frame. I doubted she’d wear even a size zero. Her hair had undergone a transformation, too, from white with a pink stripe to an all-over robin’s-egg blue. A not-as-timid-as-before smile formed on her lips, highlighted by the twinkle in her bright brown eyes. Her pale, impossibly smooth skin fairly glowed with an indefinable radiance. She carried a clipboard with a pen in her other hand, ready for business.

  “Wait. What did you say? My office?” Suddenly feeling huge, I slouched and clutched my camera over my breasts. One of my breasts is at least twice the size of her teensy head. “I have an office? Kaine, Mr. Delcaluca never mentioned this.”

  Her laugh tinkled. Yep, there was no other way to describe the sound. Her laugh sounded like a crystal bell swaying in the wind. Sheesh. Since when are my thoughts so picturesque?

  “Yes, ma’am, Mrs. Delcaluca.” She stuck out her doll-sized hand and shook my hand. I gingerly took it and prayed my big paws wouldn’t break any of her dainty fingers. “Mr. Delcaluca made me your personal assistant.”

  “Along with quite a transformation.”

  She smoothed her hair behind her ear. “That was Mr. Delcaluca’s idea too. He didn’t want Fitz to forget I wasn’t a…a maid any longer.”

  The man has a big heart, that’s for sure. Maybe that’s why he wants a baby so much? You know, a child to represent the love we share and not just a machismo need for offspring? The ping of want stabbing that sneaky maternal spot in my gut shocked me. Fortunately, years of squashing that unwanted side of me rose up and did its duty again.

  But wait? A personal assistant for me? I struggled to appear businesslike and ignored the little voice in my head telling me I wanted to make the business succeed without Kaine’s help. I mean, come on. Who could turn down a personal assistant? “Great. Lead the way to my office, please.”

  “Of course. If you’ll kindly follow me…” She bestowed another beatific smile on me, turned on her heel and started down the hallway. The girl was definitely happier than when we’d first met.

  For a little person—uh, petite woman—she sure could move. I hurried after her, managing to stay a few steps behind her, but never quite catching up. After heading down two more winding hallways I was sure I’d left out of my hastily drawn map, she stopped and nodded at one of the many dark mahogany doors lining the hall.

  A polished bronze plaque with my name—Christina Taylor-Delcaluca—was attached to the door. “You’re shitting me!” I reached out to run my fingers over the gleaming letters.

  “Of course not, Mrs. Delcaluca. I would never, um, shit you.”

  “Oops, forgive my Dutch, but this is unreal.”

  She tinkled again—as in laughed, not as in going Number One—and swung the door wide. With another quick nod, she motioned for me to step inside my new digs.

  My mouth fell open. My new office was twice the size of my former studio apartment. An enormous ornate desk dominated the room with smaller pieces of furniture such as a comfy couch, side chairs and coffee table filling the rest of the space. Lush beige carpet—oh, please, let my shoes be clean—beckoned me to run my toes through it, while a large flat-screen television decorated one wall. Beautiful paintings hung on the other walls, but it was the state-of-the-art computer system resting on the desk that caught my attention and held it prisoner.

  “Wow.” I forgot to maintain a professional attitude and dashed over to examine the machine. I clicked the mouse and the monitor instantly lit up, showing a woman’s face.

  “Good morning, Mrs. Delcaluca.” The woman, an identical match for Missy, smiled at me. “How may I help you today?”

  I jerked my head up to stare at the real Missy. “No freakin’ way! Did my computer just speak to me?”

  “I did, Mrs. Delcaluca. I’m your P.A.M. You may call me Pam, if you wish.”

  “My P.A.M.?” I sat down, immediately luxuriating in the rich leather. “I know I have P.M.S. sometimes, but I’ve never had P.A.M.”

  Missy and the computer laughed identical tinkling laughs. “P-A-M., Mrs. Delcaluca, is an acronym for Personal Assistant Machine.”

  “I’m your personal live assistant,” added Missy.

  “Excuse me, Missy, but I’m as alive as you are.” Pam glared at Mis
sy, who had moved to stand beside me.

  “Of course you are. I was only trying to explain the difference to Mrs. Delcaluca.” Missy inclined her head first to Pam, then to me. “Pam handles all cyber-related activities while I take care of hands-on duties. Think of us as two halves of one efficient assistant.”

  “Actually, we’re two-thirds of one efficient assistant.”

  I checked around the room, looking for yet another version of Missy. “Three? There’s three of you?”

  If anyone could scoff in a sweet way, it was Missy. “In a way.” She reached into the left-hand drawer of the desk and picked up a cell phone—or at least something resembling a cell phone. “This is a mini-version of P.A.M.”

  I took the gadget and examined it. Another image of Missy-slash-Pam lit up the touch screen. This version spoke at the same time Pam did.

  “We’re both a P.A.M. or Pam. One of us—” Pam waved from the monitor on the desk, “—is dedicated to your office, while the other—” the mini-Pam in the cell phone tipped her head at me, “—is the mobile unit. When you speak to one, you speak to both.”

  I glanced at Missy. “But not to you? Because you’re real, right?”

  “A-hem!” Duplicate glares assaulted me from both screens. “Both of us are just as real, Mrs. Delcaluca. Not being organic in nature does not make us any less real.”

  Missy caught my eye and shot me an undeniable look. Obviously the flesh-and-blood assistant didn’t agree. I wasn’t, however, ready to start a war. “Okay. Got it.” I glanced around, wanting to get busy doing what I’d started out to do. “So, do I have a printer in here? One with photo quality paper?”

  “Of course.”

  Having all three assistants answer simultaneously was a bit overwhelming, but I tried not to let it show. I wasn’t used to having one assistant, much less three. Heck, the best I’d ever had was a twenty-five percent discount at Kinko’s. “Okey-dokey, then. How about I slip this card into the media slot and we get some pics uploaded and printed.” Before I had a chance to strike a key on the keyboard, however, the pictures I’d taken of Kaine and the #&#*@ lady were on Pam’s large screen. The printer hummed away.